A monumental history of painting, sculpture, architecture, music, and minor arts throughout the world, from prehistoric times through the early 20th century with an emphasis on the societies and cultures from which they evolved. Designed to bring to life the world of art for adults and children alike, it is a perfect book to read with your child about many of the superstars of art including colour and black and white illustrations by the author with a lighthearted and humours writing style.
Hendrik Willem Van Loon himself was a fascinating subject, a prolific author, he mostly published works aimed at expanding children’s knowledge in non fiction subjects. He was born in Rotterdam, however spent most of his life as a university lecturer in America, appreciating the calm days I would think after his foreign correspondent work during the Russian Revolution in 1905 and in Belgium during WWI.
This particular edition here was published in 1937 by Simon and Schuster in a deep burgundy red hardback format with gilt detailing to the spine and front cover and coloured edges to the top of the pages. The endpapers are fully illustrated with almost a blurb of what the interior holds. The interior of this volume is in good condition its age with owners markings present to both interior pages, showing its travels through time. The text however is clear and shows no sign of annotation.
